


crescendoing

by demistories



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Identity Reveal, Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-27 23:07:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6303766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demistories/pseuds/demistories
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ladybug sneaks a peak at Chat. He has his eyes closed and is dancing his fingers across an invisible piano. Her heart pounds. </p><p>It has to be a coincidence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	crescendoing

**Author's Note:**

> Happy end of season 1!! I'm so emotional please save me. Have some pretty basic mostly fluffy stuff while I mentally prepare myself for no new episodes for a while
> 
> Anyway I spent all of last night writing this after I _finally_ watched Origins. I've had the idea swimming around for awhile. [tomdupain](http://tomdupain.tumblr.com/) mentioned a while back that there weren't enough Marinette finds out first reveals, so I started planning this, and then [xenavitani](http://xenavitani.tumblr.com/) came up with a sort of reveal that I sort of died thinking about. (You'll probably know what it is, but I'll clarify in the end notes!!) Also, Adrien plays piano and there is not enough of that in the fandom. Meaning I'm going to make a point to at least mention it in each fic I write. 
> 
> The title of this is to make up for the distinct lack of music jokes in Volpina and in this. I'm disappointed in both the show and myself. 
> 
> No real Origins spoilers, just a reference at the end that might be a little confusing if you haven't seen them! Anyway, I'm dead and please enjoy

Marinette had thought that she'd finally gotten ahold of her crush enough to act like a normal human being around Adrien.

Marinette has also never had to be around Adrien while he was humming before.

How do you breathe again?

"What's that?" Nino asks once Adrien's been humming the same song for about half an hour.

Marinette really appreciates these study groups, they get a surprising amount of work done and she gets to hang out with her friends. But wow, she hasn't been _this_ distracted by Adrien in weeks.

It’s not like she didn’t know he was musical, Marinette was perfectly aware that he played piano. He just never mentioned it, it was easy to forget. Hearing him hum softly, voice running over the same notes his fingers danced to play? Definitely a distraction.

Adrien looks up from his book in surprise. "What?"

"What are you humming?" Nino repeats, and Alya nods in agreement.

"Oh, sorry." Adrien rubs the back of his neck. "Just the piece I'm playing tonight at the piano concert. I spent all afternoon practicing before coming here, it's sort of stuck in my head." He blushes light pink and Marinette wonders if she can somehow find a fabric in that exact color.

"Oooo, concert," Alya croons, resting her chin in her hands. " _Why_ didn't we know about this?"

"Because it's a fancy charity thing that's invitation only," Adrien admits sheepishly. "And I'm not as prepared as I should be."

Nino rolls his eyes. "Yeah right. You'll kill it, man."

"Break a leg!" Marinette adds.

Adrien smiles at her. “Thanks, guys. Does anyone get what question four—”

“ _Wow_ , really?” Alya asks.

He raises his eyebrows and stares at her. “Do you know what question four is asking?”

Alya throws up her hands. “FINE! Change the subject! I’m sneaking in and recording you playing, just watch me.”

* * *

“Sorry,” Chat says as he lands on the roof. “Something ran longer than expected.”

“It’s fine,” Ladybug insists. She twists to see him better in the dim light. Patrol was strangely lonely without him. Originally, they had planned to take separate patrols to make it easier, but now she almost can’t stand it without him. “Nothing much is happening.”

“Is it ever?” He sits down next to her, crossing his legs. “This is nice,” he says, closing his eyes.

She hums in agreement. Paris is beautiful, especially at night. The lights make the city sparkle in just the right way.

She doesn’t notice it at first. As they sit watch over the city, Chat hums softly to himself and rocks back and forth to the beat. It’s a tune that’s surprisingly similar, but Ladybug can’t exactly place it. It's right there on the tip of her tongue, but she can't name it. There's such a soft and peaceful look on Chat’s face — one she's not sure that she's seen before — that she doesn't want to break him out of his trance to ask. For a while, she closes her eyes as well and let's herself get lost in his song.

When it seems like he’s repeating the song again, Ladybug feels brave enough to ask. It’s strange, she’s never nervous around Chat. He’s _Chat._ But this feels different and more personal. “What are you humming?” she asks.

He turns wide, dazed green eyes to her. “What?”

“You were humming,” she mumbles. She looks away, unable to keep meeting his eyes.

“Oh.” He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “I had a piano concert tonight.”

“How did it go?”

Chat shrugs. “I probably could’ve practiced more, but a certain bug was taking up all my practice time,” he says with a wink.

She nudges him lightly. “I’m sure it went fine,” she promises.

He raises his eyebrows and mutters something under his breath that she can’t catch.

“What was that?”

He shakes his head. “If I’m bothering you, I can stop.”

“Don’t,” she says, hopefully not too quickly. “I don’t mind. It’s nice.”

Chat wiggles his eyebrows. “Ah, so My Lady likes my singing?” He leans in with a smirk, and she feels her cheeks heat up. “I guess I’ll have to serenade—”

“I don’t need you meowling on rooftops at me and waking up all of France,” she teases, pushing him away with a hand to his chest. She looks back out to the city skyline, hoping Chat can’t see her blush.

“You wound me, bugaboo,” he pouts. She only responds with a shrug, and it doesn’t take him long to go back to humming.

She closes her eyes, letting his humming wash over her again. He reaches a run of sixteenth notes, emphasizing certain ones more than others. Her eyes snap open in shock.

Piano concert.

Humming.

_This song._

Ladybug sneaks a peak at Chat. He has his eyes closed and is dancing his fingers across an invisible piano. Her heart pounds.

It has to be a coincidence.

* * *

Over the year, Marinette has become very good at discreetly watching Adrien. But she hasn’t watched him so intently in months, and she feels more obvious than ever. Can everyone tell that she’s analyzing every one of his movements? Each gesture, every word, every _blink_ is noted and tucked away for later comparisons.

Chat and Adrien both play piano. So what?

But they played the same song on the same night.

They could’ve been at different concerts.

Both hum.

Lots of people hum.

Both have green eyes and blond hair.

Chat’s eyes could be changed by his transformation, and lots of people have blond hair. Adrien’s is much neater and shorter than Chat’s.

They both make puns.

Plenty of people make puns. Chat makes them constantly and loudly, Adrien mostly breathes them softly under his breath.

But both wear the same smug expression if they get any sort of reaction out of anyone from said puns.

Both are kind and caring. They just show it in different ways.

Both—

Both…

Both make her heart race.

Marinette covers her face with a pillow and screams. Tikki coos sympathetically from the pile of papers on Marinette’s desk. Pages and pages of comparisons between Chat Noir and Adrien Agreste that she’s noticed in the past week.

“I can’t be falling in love with Chat,” she says, her voice muffled.

“Why not?” Tikki asks. “You do think he might be Adrien.”

“Or,” Marinette throws the pillow across the room, “ _or_ I’m overreacting and drawing similarities where there are none because I like Chat and can’t accept it? Or maybe I’m just not getting enough sleep. Maybe the line between Marinette and Ladybug is too blurred. _Maybe_ I can’t separate them from their appearances?”

Tikki shakes her head. “Who are you trying to convince, Mari.” She motions to all the papers. “I think you’ve got plenty of proof.”

“It’s all speculation,” Marinette insists. “There’s basically no _hard_ proof.” She groans. “Where’s Alya when I need her?”

“Probably doing her homework like she’s supposed to be doing.”

Marinette snorts. “ _Sure_ , Tikki.”

Tikki shrugs. “My way of telling you to do _your_ work. You’ve got patrol tonight.”

Marinette sighs and sits up. “Great.”

* * *

Ladybug has always paid attention to Chat Noir. Of course she has, they’re _partners_. She might not know much about him personally like a friend would, but she knows his rhythm in a fight, how his mind works, the pattern of his breathing. She knows most of his moves before he makes them, and he knows hers.

But now she’s watching him like a different person. She’s slowly dissecting everything he does. And she is so glad — and lucky — he hasn’t caught her yet. She’d never hear the end of it.

She’s always noticed Chat’s inability to stay still. He sways back and forth when he sits and kicks his legs when they dangle over roofs and beams. He taps his fingers against his staff and dances whenever he gets the change.

Now she’s seeing his dancing in a different light. It’s not just fidgeting and excess energy. There’s some silent music that he dances to as he moonwalks past her across a rooftop. He tap dances to the rhythm of traffic in the streets below and kicks to the pitter patter of rain. He swings around a lamppost, singing softly to himself.

It makes her heart do weird things. Weird things she wants it to stop doing. Like immediately.

* * *

There’s something distinctly Chat-like about Adrien winking at her. And Marinette is only really processing now how often he does.

Maybe it’s in the way that he tilts his head when he does it, or his little smile.

She’s not sure, but the butterflies in her stomach flutter wildly whenever he does.

Alya nudges her when Adrien turns back around.

Marinette blinks at her in surprise.

“Winking!” Alya whispers excitedly. “I told you he likes you!”

“I’m sure he winks at other people,” Marinette manages, feeling a blush creeping up into her cheeks.

Alya scoffs and rolls her eyes. “You’re both oblivious,” she mutters.

* * *

Chat frowns at her. “Ladybug?”

She tugs at her pigtails. “Isn’t it though?”

He shakes his head. “What brought this around?” His voice is edged with worry and it pains her because she doesn’t want to make him worried. She hates making Chat feel anything that’s not positive, he so clearly has too much negativity in his life as is.

And yet here she is— back pressed against a rough brick wall, Miraculous beeping four minutes at her loudly, doubts screaming in her mind over and over again.

“It’s not _worth it_.”

He takes her hand and squeezes it. “LB, it’s _always_ worth it.”

“It doesn’t feel like it!” she snaps. She can feel her eyes water and she _hates it_. She hates _all of this_. She wants to curl up on the ground and cry and forget all of it.

Chat’s arms are around her before she can protest.

And she doesn’t.

Ladybug sinks into them, letting her tears roll down her cheeks. She buries her face into the crook of his neck as soft sobs wrack her body. She knows her fingers are probably digging into his side, but he doesn’t complain. He just holds her close and rubs his hand up and down her back.

Her earrings beep. Three minutes.

She hugs him tighter. This is _so unfair_. They haven’t gotten a full night’s rest in weeks. They’re approaching a month. Hawk Moth has been ruthless with his akuma. Their suits protect them, but there are still bruises and cuts on faces that have to be covered up. Ladybug is exhausted.

 _Marinette_ is exhausted.

“It’s not worth it,” she murmurs again, keeping her face pressed against his neck. She sniffs. “God, we aren’t doing _anything_. We have literally no effect on him.”

“We’re going to stop him,” Chat says. His voice is so steady and confident that she almost believes him. She _wants_ to believe him. She’s not that optimistic.

“We have no leads,” she whispers. Her existence aches. “We have no clues. Just some butterflies and a trail of destruction.”

“But we always clean it up.” Chat pulls away, cupping her face in his hands. “Hawk Moth isn’t going to tear us down without a much longer fight. One rough akuma won’t cut it.”

 _Beep beep beep!_ Two minutes.

“I should go,” Ladybug says softly. She feels too fragile to speak up. Part of her — a surprisingly large part of her — wants to stay here in Chat’s arms. To tell him, ‘I don’t care about our identities anymore, I just need you here with me right now’. The other part of her is louder.

He gives her a lopsided smile. “See you later, bugaboo. Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”

She rolls her eyes, enjoying the subtle feeling of normalcy, even if his tone of voice is completely wrong.

When she ducks into a back alley to detransform, Marinette realizes that this is the first time Chat has hugged her and not pulled away quickly. She remembers all the other times, he’d leaped away like she was a hot stove the second he realized what he was doing.

She wraps her arms around herself and Tikki nuzzles her cheek. ”Thank you,” she whispers, wishing he could hear her.

* * *

Adrien has his head down on his desk.

Marinette and Alya stop in front of him. Alya raises an eyebrow. “Long night?” she asks.

Adrien just hums in agreement and tucks his face into his arm. It’s ridiculously cute. And Marinette had not mentally prepared herself for sleepy Adrien Agreste this morning.

“Dude, you look dead,” Nino says as he sits down. He puts a hand on Adrien’s back. “You okay?”

“Just tired,” Adrien murmurs.

“Well class is starting soon, so better wake up,” Alya says, tapping on his desk with her nails as she passes.

Adrien groans and sits up.

Marinette takes her seat behind him, watching him carefully. She _knows_ she feels like death. Hawk Moth hasn’t lightened up on the attacks at all. It’s gotten to the point where Alya mostly just asks for people to submit videos and pictures, because she would have to spend so much time running around Paris to keep up with all of them. Marinette’s excuses are getting thinner and thinner.

If Adrien is Chat Noir — she’s about 60% positive he is, but it wavers depending on the day — then he can’t be feeling any better than she is. If anything, he’s much worse off, having gotten thrown into another wall the night before. The poor cat is getting banged up and bruised up left and right.

Adrien reaches under his desk and pulls out a thermos. He unscrews the cap, pulls a face, and downs the contents in one go.

The three of them stare at him in surprise and what’s probably considered horror.

“What was that?” Alya asks.

“Coffee,” Adrien says with a grimace. “Very strong coffee.”

“Bro,” Nino says softly.

Adrien just twists the cap back on. “Oh, I know.”

“ _Bro_ , you on caffeine—”

“ _I know_.”

“I don’t,” Alya interrupts.

“Neither do I,” Marinette admits.

“Caffeine makes this boy bounce off the walls,” Nino says sympathetically. He pats Adrien’s back. “You’re going to die.”

Adrien shrugs. It’s a half shrug, unbalanced and carefree like one of Chat’s. “I feel like death, so I’m almost there.”

“You’re going to crash,” Marinette says. She’s a little impressed and a little terrified. She drinks her fill of caffeinated teas, yes, but she’s never seen Adrien with anything stronger than hot chocolate.

“So be it,” he says, sounding just as dead as he claims to feel. “As long as I get through class.”

* * *

“Aww, poor kitten,” Ladybug croons. She runs her fingers through Chat’s hair.

He sticks his tongue out at her. His eyes are half closed, and he’s leaning heavily on her side. He’d practically collapsed on her when he sat down, too tired to even announce a cat nap.

She can relate. She’d been lucky enough to be able to take a nap when she got home. She’d barely dragged herself out of bed to do minimal amounts of homework before patrol, but it was better than nothing. Which is what it appeared Chat was running on.

A whisper in the back of her mind reminds her that Adrien’s afternoon had been stuffed with lessons and a shoot. She ignores it. At some point, she decided that it was too stressful to deal with an increase of akuma, an extreme lack of sleep, _and_ trying to figure out if Chat was Adrien.

That’ll have to wait for some other time. Preferably after she’s gotten a good ten hours of sleep.

“Sorry,” Chat mumbles as his head starts to slip from her shoulder.

“It’s alright, kitty cat,” she promises. Before she second guesses herself, she pushes him up with her shoulder, taking his head in her hands and lowering him to her lap. “Let’s hope for a quiet night. I’ll wake you if anything happens.”

Chat stiffens for a moment, but relaxes again as soon as her fingers smooth down his hair again. His eyes close, and he purrs softly as he sleeps.

Ladybug sighs. “What am I going to do with you?” she murmurs as she brushes his hair behind his ears. “What am I going to do with _me_?”

* * *

Marinette freezes as she catches sight of Adrien across the room.

It’s Rose’s birthday, and in typical Rose fashion, she’s thrown a party for everyone. There’s music and dancing and a ridiculous amount of food and pink.

Marinette is enjoying herself. It’s been a few days since the last akuma attack. A well needed rest, although she’s been constantly tense and on edge. And she knows Chat is as well. They can’t tell if Hawk Moth has just toned it down for now or if this is simply the calm before the storm. But it does mean she’s been able to sleep and hang out with friends and come to Rose’s party.

Alya nudges her, breaking her trance. She pulls her gaze away from Adrien and Nino in their corner. “Huh?”

“Nerds, aren’t they?” Alya asks fondly, resting a hand on her hip.

Marinette nods, looking back over. She swallows thickly.

In learning more about who Adrien really is, she’s realized that he really can be quite shy and timid. He doesn’t like always being the center of attention. He likes a chance away from the spotlight, and he’ll stand his ground, just in a much softer and polite way than Marinette ever would.

That also seems to apply to parties. Him and Nino are pressed into a corner, laughing and talking, eating the snacks from the table that they’re no doubt strategically standing near.

Adrien Agreste does a dance move, a sort of shuffle, that is undeniably familiar.

Nino laughs and puts his drink down, breaking into equally bad dance moves.

Alya snorts. “Oh god, they’re _terrible_.”

Marinette forces a laugh. “Really bad.”

Adrien strikes a pose that she _knows_ is one of Chat’s. Because he’d done it the other day on patrol. Finally having gotten enough sleep, her dancing cat was back. Maybe not up to full speed, but enough so that he could do his victory dance and strike a pose after beating her in a race for once.

Marinette gulps.

She’s not sure how positive she was about her hunch before the party. But the way her heart flutters as Adrien dances assures her of it—

Adrien Agreste is 100% Chat Noir.

* * *

“My Lady!” Chat shouts with a wave from a roof across the street.

Ladybug wiggles her fingers in greeting as he leaps across the gap, catching himself on his staff and propelling himself the rest of the way. He tucks into a roll and jumps to a stand just feet in front of her. He takes her hand and kisses the back of it.

Ladybug can’t even bring herself to roll her eyes. She just thinks, ‘oh no’, and hopes that if she does blush, her mask hides it. “You’re in a good mood,” she muses.

Chat drops their arms, swinging their hands back and forth between them. “Ah, LB, I’ve had nearly an entire day off! All I’ve done is sleep and lie around.”

“Like the lazy cat you are,” she teases, flicking his bell.

He blinks in surprise before leaning forward, getting far more into her personal space than she expected. “I’d be fine with lying around with you, my Lady,” he purrs.

Ladybug smirks. “Who knew pleasing you was so easy.”

“Just being around you makes me happy.”

And— well, she wasn’t expecting something so earnest. She clucks her tongue and bops his nose with her finger. “Getting a little spoiled then, aren’t you, alleycat? A little too much cream for the kitten.” She winks and pulls away from him. She races across the roof, leaping the gap and throwing her yoyo. It takes a few seconds before she can hear him following her. She just moves faster, trying to keep up with her heartbeat.

* * *

“Wow, that’s _gorgeous_.”

Marinette looks up from her sketchbook, immediately meeting Adrien’s bright eyes. She has to bite her cheek to hold back a quick, ‘You’re gorgeous’. “Thanks,” she says instead, moving her bag from the spot on the bench next to her.

He sits down in the open space, resting his arm on the back of the bench and leaning close to her to see the dress she’s been sketching.

“I love it,” he says with a smile.

‘ _I love you_ ’. “It’s a work in progress,” she admits.

“Isn’t everything?”

Marinette turns to look at him and they are so incredibly close. She can see every speckle in his eyes. She can count his eyelashes and the very very light freckles that dot the bridge of his nose. Her breath catches in her throat, and she’s thrown off by how badly she wants to kiss him.

“I-I guess,” she says softly.

Adrien gaze drops, and she can feel it on her lips. Just as quickly, it drops back to her sketchbook, and he shifts away slightly.

Marinette leans back, sagging against the bench, the moment gone. She pretends not to notice his fingers brushing against her hair as she rambles on about the dress design, because she really doesn’t want him to move them.

* * *

“I think you’re killing the poor boy,” Tikki says.

“It’s not intentional,” Marinette promises.

“ _Noooo_ , but… I mean, he clearly likes you when you’re Mari _and_ when you’re Ladybug! Wouldn’t you be having a crisis over this?”

Marinette rests her chin in her hand. “Probably.”

“So you should tell him.”

Marinette raises her eyebrows. “Are you sure?”

Tikki shrugs. “Is it fair that you know and he doesn’t?”

“Probably not,” Marinette admits. “I just…don’t know how to?”

“You’ll figure it out,” Tikki promises. “You always do.”

* * *

Adrien holds onto her tightly as she swings them down into an alleyway. “Thanks,” he says as they drop to the ground. He stumbles back a step, his expression slightly stunned.

Ladybug winks. “Just doing my job.”

His ears turn red and he leans out of the alley to see the destruction they’ve just escaped. “Why does this happen to me?” he asks softly.

Another akuma caused because a fan of Adrien’s got upset. There haven’t been an outrageous amount, but Ladybug now has to use two hands to count them, and that’s too many for her. She can see how it’s weighing on Adrien, he feels guilty about it. Of course he does. “You’re a handsome model.” She shrugs. “You can’t please everyone. And you’re bound to break some hearts.”

“I don’t want to,” he insists.

“You broke mine.”

“ _What?_ ” Adrien whirls around, staring at her with wide eyes.

Ladybug shrugs. There’s really no point in hiding it, and…she wants him to know. Because she’s selfish like that.

“I…” Adrien runs a hand through his hair. “W-what?!”

She takes a step closer, hoping his hearing is that of a normal human when he’s not transformed. She doesn’t want him to hear how fast her heart is beating. “It’s alright, my heart’s all healed now.”

He blinks rapidly. “I-I didn’t know. I’m sorry I didn’t—”

“Mean to?” she asks. “Realistically, I was probably never going to tell you, you shouldn’t be sorry.”

Adrien furrows his eyebrows and looks up to meet her eyes. His own widen when he realizes how close she is. For a moment, he just searches her face. “W-wha—?”

Ladybug smiles at him. “It’s not broken anymore, because I think you feel the same way.”

He opens his mouth and closes it a few times.

“I should get back,” she says glancing towards the entrance to the alley. “Be careful, handsome boy.” She presses a quick kiss to his cheek before sprinting out of the alley.

She pretends not to notice how out of it Chat seems when he ‘finally’ shows up to fight the akuma. He keeps staring at her, and it takes all she has not to wink at him.

* * *

Marinette tries to ignore how strange Adrien is acting at school. Well, she pretends it’s strange when she’s around Alya and Nino. In context, it makes sense. All the looks he’s giving her, the lovestruck and dazed look that sometimes cross his face, his distraction.

“You really should put an end to his misery,” Tikki chides.

Marinette twirls her pencil. “Just working on how, Tikki.”

“Try just telling him.”

“I… I don’t want him to be mad.” She chews on her lip.

“I doubt it,” Tikki says. “I don’t know if that boy can be disappointed in you.”

Marinette laughs nervously. “That’s not exactly a good thing, Tikki. That’s too much to live up to.”

“Okay, well, I don’t think he’ll be that mad at you.” Tikki gives her a bright smile. “He really loves you, Marinette. If he’s mad, he’ll forgive you.”

* * *

Ladybug throws her arms around Chat Noir’s neck. He tenses for a second before hugging back. It’s raining and getting dark and she knows they’re running out of time but this is important. Because that was _terrifying_.

“Don’t scare me like that,” she mumbles.

“I didn’t mean to,” he whispers.

And she knows he didn’t. After the last time he took a hit for her, she’d yelled at him until she was raw and nearly voiceless. They’d poured hours and hours into training, and it, along with the more constant akuma attacks, had improved their fighting exponentially. Chat no longer just took a hit for her, he got them out of the way if it was in any way possible. This time—

“I thought I’d lost you.” Ladybug pulls away. Her eyes dart around his face, checking for any signs of injury. The only thing she sees is his chin to his chest and his eyes lowered.

“I’m sorry.” His voice is choked and thick. His ears are flattened against his hair.

She lifts his chin to meet his eyes. “Don’t be, kitten, just be safe.”

“I’ll try.”

Ladybug forgets herself. She forgets herself because she loves him. She forgets herself because she’s so close to losing him at any second. She forgets herself because she _almost lost him._ She forgets herself because it’s so easy to. She’s leaning in before she processes what she’s doing, coming to a screeching halt just a breath away from his lips. “C-can I—?”

Chat’s lips crash into her own. He wraps his arms around her, and she can taste his tears on his lips. His lips— they’re softer than they were the last time they kissed. This kiss is real, this kiss means something more than just saving her partner. She doesn’t know how to use words to explain how much she loves him, she hopes this is somehow enough for now. Their noses bump, and she presses their foreheads together as she pulls away to breathe. Chat is just as breathless as she is.

His ring beeps, high and annoying.

Ladybug opens her eyes. Chat is staring back at her. His eyes are large and slightly terrified. She gives him a small smile and kisses the corner of his mouth.

“I should go,” he murmurs, his voice hoarse.

“I—” The words catch in her throat. She has to do this _now_ . Before anything gets any more complicated, before they have any more near death experiences. There is no _right_ way to do this. There’s just doing it and not doing it. She tries again. “You don’t have to.” If they weren’t so close, she doesn’t think he’d be able to hear her. “I…I already know.”

Chat’s eyes widen even more. “You…?”

“Hi, handsome boy,” Ladybug whispers. She prepares herself for whatever reaction he has. Her heart is threatening to run away.

“H-how?”

“A lot of little things,” she admits. “It starts with you humming at study session and telling Nino, Alya, and I that you had a concert, and then coming to patrol humming the same song.”

He blinks in surprise.

“It ends with your dancing at Rose’s birthday.” Ladybug smiles weakly. “I’d recognize your victory dance anywhere, Chat.”

His lips part. “Marinette?”

Her smile feels so so forced. Because she can’t tell— He wears so many masks, and she’s only so good at getting past them. “Hi.”

Chat stares at her for a long moment. Her heart pounds. And then he breaks into a large, dazzling smile. “ _Mari_ ,” he says, soft as a secret. And then he’s kissing her again.

They ignore the beeping of their miraculous, they ignore the light downpour that they’ve been standing in.

“It’s you,” he whispers against her lips. “It’s always you.”

—«·»—

Marinette tugs him inside the bakery, dripping onto the floor. She apologizes to her parents, grabs snacks for the kwami, and pulls him upstairs to her room. She provides him with a pair of dry sweatpants and a t-shirt — both of which are about three sizes too big for her — and a towel as Plagg and Tikki eat.

She changes into dry clothes and towels off her hair. When she steps back into her bedroom, Adrien immediately pulls her into a tight hug.

“I’m glad it’s you,” he says, kissing the top of her forehead.

“I’m glad it’s you.”

They collapse onto her lounge, wrapped up in a blanket and each other. Adrien kisses her again and again, and Marinette tangles her fingers in his still damp hair. They stop, breathless and giggling when Plagg pretends to gag.

“We’re ridiculous,” Adrien says, burying his face in her neck.

Marinette hums in agreement as she runs her fingers through his hair. ”Alya was right, we’re both totally oblivious.”

“Not anymore.” Adrien lifts his head. “I keep trying to say it, but things keep getting in the way. I love you.”

Marinette’s heart skips a beat. “I love you too.”

“But next time the weather calls for rain, can you bring my umbrella? Cats don’t like water.”

She rolls her eyes and pulls him up for a kiss. “If you’re nice, you can have your umbrella back,” she says as she pulls away.

“It’s yours now,” he insists, chasing her lips.

Marinette sinks into the kiss, soaking it all in. Thunder rumbles softly in the distance, but it’s no matter. Here, it’s warm and dry. She never wants to leave.

**Author's Note:**

> The reveal xenavitani came up with was Marinette realizing Adrien is Chat from his dance moves which is just..so good....
> 
> I listened to my love square playlists while writing this, but at some point while writing the last few pieces, I switched to the umbrella scene song and just...that on repeat for forever. Make it the background music of my life please. 
> 
> I'm on [tumblr](http://buglad.tumblr.com/tagged/my-fics) (and you can reblog this there!) <3


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